Assessing The Impact Of Last Summers Fires

Article Date: April 2001

"Ashes to ashes, dust to dust... The 2000 season was a bit of a bust." This is how outfitter Jack Mauer summarized the effects of wildfire on his fly fishing business last year in the heart of the burn area near Hamilton, Montana. The fires were brought on by a drought more severe than in 1988, when Yellowstone National Park burned out of control. Several watersheds were affected, but the brunt of the fires, over 300,000 acres, roasted the Bitterroot right down to the river.

Mauer's Wapiti Waters is widely considered the Bitterroot Valley's premier guide service. "Our spring fishing was exceptional, lasting from March to November," he says with dry humor. "Typical blowout runoff flows never really happened. A below-average snowpack kept melting slowly in mild, dry weather, keeping the rivers at fishable levels right on into the summer. But in the back of my mind, I knew major problems were imminent."

The problems ignited in late July, as extreme drought conditions took hold and lightning sparked fires in the Bitterroot and Big Hole areas, ultimately cresting the Continental Divide. In early August, Level 5 fire restrictions officially closed recreation on the water and in the woods throughout western Montana. In September, relief finally came with cool, wet weather. The month-long fishing closure was lifted as river flows increased, but there was still apprehension that fire-ravaged drainages would erode heavily. "Actually, fall fishing was better than ever," Mauer says. "Trout seemed to forget about leaders and dragging flies, as if they knew they should feed opportunistically. Trouble is," he adds, "not too many anglers were around to experience it." Many fall angler days were canceled because of uncertainty, thick smoke hanging in the air and alarmist media coverage depicting the whole state on fire.

As previous stories in The Angling Report ha........(continued)

CONTACT DETAILS FOR COMPANIES/INDIVIDUALS MENTIONED IN ARTICLE (if any)

Mauers Wapiti Waters. 516 Chickadee Lane. Victor, MT, 59875. Tel. 800-254-5311, 406-642-6548. E-mail: wapiti@wapiti-waters.com, Web: www.wapitiwaters.com